


deal with a dragon witch

by Lizadrawsss



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: And Virgil’s oblivious yikes, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Basically roman makes a deal to save his imagination, Curses, Dragon Witch - Freeform, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, Minor Violence, Pre-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), bad grammar because im lazy, except it involves Virgil poor baby, janus and remus help later on, roman is a dumb boy in the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizadrawsss/pseuds/Lizadrawsss
Summary: after roman finally has enough of the dragon witch attacking the imagination, he makes a deal to keep her away. the only problem? he agreed to the deal long before he really got to know the dark sides, and a deal with a dragon witch is final.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 43
Kudos: 144





	1. the deal is made

roman stood silently at the opening of the cave he knew the dragon witch resided inside. he hated to admit that he was scared, but his trembling fingers were an obvious sign of discomfort. he hadn't ever looked for the dragon witch intentionally, he had only ever spoken to her during a battle in which he was defending his kingdom. and yet here he stood, outside her home readying himself to yell.

"dragon witch!" he called, hoping that would be enough. he had assumed the dragon witch would be a light sleeper, and judging by the low growl from inside the cave, he was correct in his assumption. it took only moments for two large eyes to poke out of the cave and locate the prince. roman gripped the handle of his sword but he had no real intent on pulling it out.

"well well well," the dragon witch fully emerged from the cave. she was a large beast with black scales. sort of like a dragon, but she could talk and she could fly extremely fast. her claws were sharp and dangerous, but it was her tail that held her power. "prince roman, what brings you to my humble abode?" she scoffed, but she was very obviously intrigued.

"you have attacked me and my people for the last time. the imagination is being destroyed by you and your attacks, and i will not rest until something is done about it!" the dragon witch smiled down at the little prince, _finally, he was finally going to do this._

in a moment there was a large gust of grey smoke that seemed to completely engulf roman, making him choke. after clearing his throat, he looked past the remains of the smoke to see a person. no longer was there a large beast in front of him, towering over and terrifying him. now, there only stood a woman smiling at him with a scroll of some kind gripped tightly in her... claws?

although this woman looked human, after the smoke had fully cleared, roman could see the differences. the claws that gripped the scroll was the first thing he noticed. the second was the horns, and when she began speaking once more, he also took note of the fangs. roman gripped his sword a little bit tighter as she took a few steps towards him.

"i'd be willing to make a deal, little prince" she smiled, tearing a sharp claw through the bindings that held the scroll closed. the paper fell open and trailed along the floor, stopping just before roman's feet. he looked at the old, yellowing paper in disgust. the dragon witch may look less intimidating like this but she was still a dragon witch at heart. she was still the villain who had attacked his kingdom countless times. she was not to be trusted, but he wasn't opposed to hearing what she had to say. he was here to save his kingdom.

"a deal?"

"a deal, my prince. i've been thinking that i could do with a little break from attacking your stupid kingdom. so how does five years sound? five years of no me. no attacks, no dragon witch." she held her head high, talking slowly and purposefully. roman was so entranced by here way of speaking that he almost agreed right then and there, but he knew this beast. he knew that there had to be a catch.

"what's the catch?" he asked, looking down at the scroll to try and read it. interestingly, it seemed to be in a completely different language; signs and symbols covered the page that he didn't recognize at all. he looked back up as he heard a sigh come from the witch.

"of course you'd assume there would be a catch, do you have no faith in me, little prince? can i not be doing this out of the kindness of my own heart?" she spoke in a sickening voice that was elegantly laced with a subtle sarcasm. roman simply laughed, cocking his head to the side as he did in disbelief.

"are you?" he smirked, and she joined him.

"well, there is one little thing. its a minor inconvenience, not really worth mentioning if i'm being honest. really its not a big-"

"would you just say it already?" roman impatiently interrupted the dragon witches smooth voice. she smiled slightly wider, laughing almost in glee. roman didn't want to think about how much that concerned him.

"well, alright. i will not attack you or the imagination for five whole years, but at the end of the five years, i get something of yours." she walked forward slowly, gracefully as if she was gliding through the air. roman held his ground, though his legs suddenly had to work a little harder to keep him from shaking. when she was close enough to touch him, she walked past, bumping her shoulder into his and walking around the back of him. a claw appeared on each of roman's shoulders and her mouth was so close to his ears that he could hear her breathing. "or... someone" she smiled and walked back to the front of roman as he looked on, confused.

"someone?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. the smirk never left the dragon witches lips.

"a side." the sentence was a simple two words, and yet it took forever for roman to process it. when he did, he could barely hold back from running in the opposite direction of the cave.

"a side?! no, no way! i knew i couldn't trust you, and you're not taking any of my friends!" roman turned on his heels in a momentary act of defiance and began walking away from the witch when barely above a speaking voice she continued.

"no one said anything about friends, little prince." roman paused. he looked over his shoulder to see the witch looking at her nails with a bored expression, as if knowing that her phrase was too intriguing for roman not to turn back around.

so he did. he took a breath, contemplating his next moves, before sighing and turning back around to face the dragon witch. he made no move to walk back towards her, and she didn't seem to want to go near him either, so they both stood an awkward distance apart, waiting for the other to speak. in the end, it was roman who broke the silence.

"what do you mean 'no one said anything about friends'?" he questioned, not bothering to raise his own voice if she couldn't be bothered to raise hers. the witch looked up from her nails, smiling as if she had been handed gold, before she gestured down to the contract that was left forgotten on the floor.

"you really think i would need this much writing if i was the one who got to choose the side? i know you wouldn't sign away the life of a friend, that's why i'm giving the choice to you, little prince. you can choose any side from any part of the mindscape, and i will rid you of their presence for good. just say the name." she smiled, and roman jumped slightly as a pen appeared beside him, floating in the air. roman still wasn't sure. he felt as though he couldn't sign away someones life just like that, it wasn't exactly very royal. he was supposed to save the damsel in distress, not put a damsel in distress.

but the dragon witch was no fool. she knew he needed a push, a nudge just to get him in the right direction, so she took a few steps forward. roman didn't even notice, too lost in his own head to notice the distance between the two people closing. he didn't raise his eyes,but he did notice when the witch spoke up again.

"if you don't take this deal, then i will tear down every house in your kingdom until there is nothing but rubble left standing." roman's eyes widened, as if remembering that there was an entire kingdom of people that he was saving. whats one damsel in the name of a thousand others? he closed his eyes tightly, as if seriously debating taking the deal before a subtle, barely noticeable voice spoke up.

"okay" and roman's eyes hardened as he looked up to meet the eyes of the dragon witch. "okay i'll take your stupid deal, but how does this even work?"

the dragon witch smiled gleefully before throwing her hands in the sky. dust came from seemingly nowhere and fell in front of the pair before it magically transformed into the smiling face of...

"how about this one?" the witch asked sweetly, looking at the cloudy image of morality.

"absolutely not! patton is my friend! no way!" he shouted quickly, desperately. the dragon witch smirked.

"so i'm assuming the smart ass is also out of the question?" she waved her hand and the smiling face of patton was quickly replaced by the ever serious logan. roman quickly agreed with her, and then roman was looking at someone he hadn't seen in years.

"you cant take my brother!" roman refused to admit that an emotion he couldn't name laced his voice. it had been _so long_ since he had seem remus. _of course he had kept the stupid mustache,_ roman thought to himself, a soft voice in his head.

"but you haven't spoken in so long! the evil twin, the other creativity, wouldn't you love for there to only be one? you could be king, little prince." she smiled at him again, but roman only stared at the face of his twin. sure, he was loud and disturbing and disgusting at times, but they were brothers, family, before anything else.

"just because were not on the best of terms now, doesn't mean that i hate him and wish him gone! i'd like to think, _i'd hope_ that we'd be friends again in five years time!" he cried, and in an instant the face before him morphed from the sickening smile of his twin into the sly smirk of deceit. 

"what about this one? lies and deception don't seem like something you'd be interested in" 

roman thought about it, but deceit was more a friend to him that remus was at this point. he always complimented roman when they spoke, and they both had a love for dramatics. although he wasn't overly fond of the snake, he didn't hate him outright. it couldn't be him.

with a shake of his head, he watched as the face once again morphed into a smirk, but this one felt a lot less comforting to roman. the picture of anxiety looked back at him with contempt in his eyes. the eye shadow he wore barely noticeable underneath all of his white foundation, and he had large bangs covering his eyes.

"that leaves only one, little prince. just think, only five more years of dealing with him, and then i'll take him off your hands." her voice seemed to flow through roman, and the smoke began transforming to show thomas.

no, not just thomas. thomas was happy, smiling bright and lively. "he won't bother you anymore, you or thomas. imagine, thomas would be free to do all of the performances, all of the shows that his heart desired without anxiety holding him back! without anxiety holding _you_ back, little prince!" 

roman hadn't fully registered what he was doing before his hand reached out and held the pen tightly. he felt it in his hands, and smiled to himself as the thomas in front of him began singing a disney song. roman bent down and grabbed the scroll before finding where he had to sign his name. he stared at the dotted line for a moment, doubt flooding into him and he faltered. he looked back up at the picture of thomas, still singing happily, and roman's smile hardened. 

he had to do this, not only for his kingdom and everyone in it, but also for thomas. anxiety was a dark side. he was evil and did nothing but hold thomas back from achieving his full potential. he held roman back from shining. he wasn't particularly liked be the dark sides and the light sides certainly didn't like him. he wouldn't be missed.

without another hint of hesitation, roman signed his name and looked back to the dragon witch once the scroll and pen disappeared from his hand. she was smiling so bright that he could see all of her teeth in the light, the yellow tint to them obvious in the setting sky. he wondered why she wanted to make this deal, why she was so intent on having a side instead of a villager from the kingdom. so, roman asked.

"what do you get out of this?" he said, as he noticed a small pool of smoke gathering at the witches feet. the dragon witch smiled even wider although roman wondered how that was physically possible at this point.

"oh, my little prince. i get five year break from you, and a valuable reward at the end of it all." the pool of smoke began moving towards roman, and although he knew he should be worried, he wasn't. he had signed a deal, the witch couldn't attack him for five years. he had five years to build up his defenses and train up the royal guards. but still, it felt as though he had lost somehow, as if he had been tricked and that at the end of the five years he himself would be the one locked away.

the smoke quickly traveled up his legs and began surrounding him. his eye lids felt very heavy very quickly and he felt completely weightless. he realized then that he was being knocked out, but he knew that if he fell asleep in the imagination, he would wake up in his own room. for some reason he could never sleep in the imagination, and he vaguely wondered if remus was allowed into the imagination at night. nevertheless, a voice barely broke through his sleepiness, but he still heard it clearly enough to remember it.

"a lot can change in five years little prince, don't forget that"

and then the world faded the black around him.

__

roman bolted upright in his bed, panting. he wondered if that had all been some elaborate dream and how much of it was actually real. he felt bad for a moment, thinking about how anxiety didn't have a say in being sent away if it was really all true. nevertheless, roman was parched and had no time to worry about vivid dreams. he checked the clock next to his bed that told him it was four in the morning and he sighed tiredly.

he threw his red covers off of himself and wandered over to his bedroom door, opening it quietly before slipping out of his room and strutting down the hall. when he neared the end he turned a corner only to feel hot hot _hot hot HOT_ all over him and he was burning! he hissed in pain before he held his t shirt away from him to keep the clothing from burning his skin. he looked down at his favourite white pyjama top to see it covered in a brown substance that smelt exactly like-

coffee.

roman looked up, knowing exactly who he was going to see. there was only one side who would drink coffee this late at night, and sure enough there was the hoodie wearing fiend stood in front of him, a shocked look on his face and an empty coffee cup in his hand. anxiety looked at roman's top - that was still dripping wet - before he raised his gaze to meet roman's.

he saw fury. 

roman was glaring at him as if he could kill him, and if looks could kill then anxiety would be six feet underground by now. roman watched as the shocked expression on anxiety's face turned slightly more sheepish before he slipped into his usual, annoying smirk. roman felt himself get angrier every second he stood there, glaring at the side in front of him.

"good morning to you too, princey" he smirked, and roman couldn't believe that he had the audacity to sound pleased with himself. he refused to play along with the sides antics this early in the morning, especially after such a rough night of sleep, so he simply pushed past him into the kitchen.

he forcefully tore off his t shirt and hoped to god that patton would be able to get the stains out of it; it really was his favourite shirt to sleep in. still seething with rage, he thought back to the dream (dream?) he had and he bitterly hoped that it was real. he wouldn't feel bad for signing away that nuisance to the dragon witch. at this point he deserved it. he just hoped that the five years would go by quicker for everyone's sake, not just his own. 

but he really didn't know if he could cope with another five years of that annoying emo.


	2. clean

it was a week later when roman was sat in bed staring down at the t shirt patton had returned to him. somehow he had managed to get the stains out, and so a perfectly white shirt sat in his hands almost mocking him. roman thought back to his interaction with anxiety and he wondered if he had overreacted. he had been very angry about a seemingly unintentional error. the side hadn't _intentionally_ spilled coffee all over him after all, but he remembered that damn smirk. the way he mocked him. he didn't feel bad about shoving him.

there was no way anxiety felt guilt about his actions, so roman refused to feel guilt over his own. weirdly, he felt as though that day was an important day to their relationship, even though they had a million similar interactions in the past. the dream he had vaguely remembered when he woke up was forgotten by morning, so he simply had a gut instinct that he should remember the date. so, he ended up marking an X in his calendar over august 12th 2016. he didn't know what it meant, or why it was important, but still. he felt the need to remember it.

the week in itself had been strange. for the past few months his imagination had been attacked by the dreaded dragon witch nearly everyday, and yet she hadn't attacked at all in the past week. he was almost tempted to go to her cave and ask why she wasn't attacking, but he instead used the time to train his armies. if she was planning something then he had to be ready to defend his people.

roman sighed as he looked down at the white t shirt; it may have been perfectly clean, but his conscious was not.

roman hated to admit that he was wrong, but he did feel like he should at least give anxiety a little bit of a break considering the incident happened at an early time in the morning. he was most likely tired and he had been spending a lot of time in the imagination trying to figure out where that damn witch had gone. _he_ certainly didn't expect anyone else to be out of their rooms, so anxiety probably assumed he was also alone. and roman really wanted to feel bad about getting angry at anxiety, but he couldn't.

how could he feel back when anxiety had done nothing but get in his way for the past week?

the day after the coffee incident (or technically the day of) the sides all had a meeting to discuss thomas and his career. the dark sides, as usual, weren't very helpful to the whole discussion and roman could feel himself becoming more and more agitated every second they were there. but anxiety was being especially hard to deal with, what with him actually being there in person. he kept pointing out how all of roman's ideas could go wrong, and thomas was _listening_ to him. 

roman hated the feeling of being betrayed by thomas, and he couldn't blame thomas for listening. it was all anxiety's fault, ~~it always was~~. he was manipulating thomas at every opportunity and thomas was falling for it. remus and deceit stayed hidden for their conversations as they always did - thomas wasn't ready to learn about them yet - so the discussion was left with only the three light sides and anxiety.

"i'm just saying, if your career crashes and burns, don't expect me to help" the side smirked, leaning back in his spot on the stairs. roman was half tempted to question when he did help, but he bit his tongue. the other three sides all sat around the living room, so anxiety was obviously the outcast of the group, although he didn't exactly try to mingle with the light sides. 

"now, anxiety, try to show a little bit more support! it could go incredibly well! people love youtube and thomas has already been doing it for a while! and he's posted a load of collab videos already! another one wont hurt!" patton argued lightly, smiling at thomas who was unknowingly biting his nails. thomas refused to look at the other sides, and so he ended up staring at his wall, just listening.

anxiety scoffed in disapproval, "another one wont hurt? people are going to think he doesn't have any individual material anymore. and he's hardly a youtuber, he mainly posts those vine compilations. his career is dying, and we're all going to the funeral." roman wanted to laugh at how dramatic the side was being, but at least anxiety had the nerve to look worried himself about it, although roman was sure that it was all an act. he was probably loving all of this anxious energy.

"hey! vine compilations are fun! besides, he's had a few videos that have done really well!" patton's arguments were becoming a lot softer as he slowly began to doubt his own reasoning. was thomas really a youtuber at this point? what was the criteria?

"yes! patton, thank you! that wonderful reaction video we filmed pulled in plenty of new viewers and i'm sure youtube can become our full time gig if we keep it up!" roman proudly proclaimed. he didn't even want to look at anxiety's doubtful face, so he instead looked at the smiling thomas in front of him. he was finally feeling good about his career, but of course anxiety had something to sat about that.

"oh yeah, great plan, princey. become a react channel! because that's never been done before!" anxiety was dripping in sarcasm and roman hated to admit that when it was phrased like that, he had to agree. he didn't want thomas to become a reaction channel, he just wanted him to be able to use his platform creatively! and if the reaction videos bring in new viewers then maybe they should film some more of those so that they have an audience! if only anxiety made constructive points instead of simply tearing everyone down.

"actually, anxiety, i'm not sure what your point is. you keep saying that thomas isn't a real youtuber, but the criteria for 'being a youtuber' is very vague. one would assume that simply having a following and creating content on the platform is more than enough to be considered a 'youtuber.' so what is your criteria? what do you actually want from thomas?" logan asked, formal as ever. when everyone turned around to face anxiety, waiting for his response, it was clear that anxiety wasn't expecting to be called out like that. 

anxiety's face seemed to be shocked with a hint of fear at the same time, and he shifted awkwardly under the stares of everyone around him. he fiddles this his hoodie sleeves for a moment, silent. however, just before patton had the chance to intercept the conversation, his signature smirk found its way back onto his lips and his eyes seemed to relax.

"i'm just saying that i know his limits. thomas hates crowds, so youtube events are never going to happen. one wrong video and his whole career fails. one wrong move and he's hated by everyone on the internet. that's a lot of pressure for someone who has, well, me, isn't it?" with a smile anxiety shifted until he could stand up and, due to his position on the stairs, he towered over the other sides. with his hands safely in his pockets he continued, "you would have to make new, original content all the time just to stay afloat. strict schedules with impossible deadlines. your creativity would burn out eventually; there are only so many ideas one person can have. and gosh, do you really want to disappoint all of those people watching? do you want to be a disappointment, sanders?"

it wasn't hard to tell that anxiety's plan was working. thomas was clearly not excited by the idea of becoming a full time youtuber anymore, and as soon as that reality crashed into everyone, anxiety decided to leave. "think about it" he smiled as he sunk out, and thomas muttered back, "like i have a choice."

when he left, the room fell silent as everyone was stuck in their won heads. roman couldn't stand this anymore, that stupid emo nightmare had ruined so many incredible opportunities for thomas and roman wouldn't stand for it any longer. he growled angrily, still glaring at the empty staircase when he started pacing around the room. patton rubbed comforting circles on thomas' back as an attempt to soften the blow but it did very little to lighten the mood in the room.

"gosh! i just hate him!" roman growled out angrily, and patton held a disapproving look that he directed at roman. logan seemed to be thinking about something in the corner, and barely seemed to register that people were talking. the tense atmosphere didn't seem to effect him.

"now, kiddo, hate is a strong word-" patton was quickly cut off.

"hate isn't a strong enough word in my opinion! look at thomas! he ruins everything that is good in thomas' life and he does it all with that stupid smirk on his face! the only thing that we were able to get him to agree on was thomas' musical and even then he still makes thomas nervous before _every show._ he gets in the way of thomas' happiness!" roman complained, still pacing heavily around the room. under his breath, going unnoticed by everyone else in the room, he muttered "i wish he wasn't a side." and the only reason roman felt bad about saying it afterwards was because he meant it. 

he was trying desperately to think about an original idea, anything that would be a good next video for thomas. if reaction videos were out f the question then maybe they could start a series of some kind? his #askthomassanders series wasn't exactly taking off, but maybe they could upgrade it into something more exciting? he had been doing a lot of collabs recently but that was just because they were fun to film! do people really think he doesn't have any solo material?

does thomas have any solo material right now?

"roman," logan began, and roman halted his pacing once he heard the serious tone in his voice, "stop pacing, you're making thomas more anxious than he already is." roman looked at thomas apologetically, and thomas smiled back. "now, although what anxiety said was anxiety inducing, he had no evidence to back up his claims. thomas, becoming a youtuber is the best option you have in your life currently in terms of a career. i would advise you to take the opportunity." thomas smiled at logan sadly, and logan attempted to smile back.

"but what about the, you know, original content thing? anxiety was right about reaction videos not being original" patton questioned, still rubbing circles on thomas' back when he perked up. 

"you guys!" thomas exclaimed excitedly. the three sides that still sat in the room looked at thomas with curiosity. thomas waved his hand around as if he was looking for the words, or he simply expected the sides to catch on.

"us? what about us?" logan asked, adjusting his glasses on his nose. thomas simply smiled wider as if he had solved a puzzle.

"you guys can be my original content! i could make a video with you guys, and we just talk about something! it would be like a conversation with my personality! it would be fun!" thomas laughed, and when he looked at patton he saw a big grin covering the small sides face as well.

"thomas you're a genius!" roman began pacing again, but this time it seemed more driven by excitement than annoyance so logan didn't tell him to stop. "i cant believe i didn't think of it sooner! we could all discuss different topics, and get all of our different opinions on them! oh, i must get to work right away!" roman went to sink out before he was stopped by logan.

"are you all forgetting something? we're imaginary. the viewers wont be able to actually see us" he stated, and the mood in the room automatically fell, except for roman, who simply laughed.

"are _you_ forgetting that we also all look exactly like thomas? the same thomas who is an actor? i'm sure he could play all of us! of course getting the outfits right might be a slight problem since they are quite intricate." he looked at logan's black shirt and small logo, then at patton's very similar outfit, before turning back to thomas, "well, mine is intricate anyways."

"i have that prince costume from into the woods! i could use that?" thomas suggested. roman smiled.

the sides all seemed excited by this idea, and they all spent the next couple of hours flushing out their idea of what the video would be about. they started writing a script when patton asked a question he already knew the answer to.

"so, guys, are we not going to include anxiety?" he asked, fiddling with his cat hoodie, looking at roman more than the others in the room. roman looked completely caught off guard and laughed as if he had just been told a joke.

"are you serious? anxiety? no, he would just bring the mood down!" he laughed, going back to script writing as if nothing more needed to be said.

and although no more words were shared, it wasn't hard to work out that everyone in the room secretly agreed.

\--

"so what, you guys are just going to film some stupid video where thomas tries to act like you guys? doesn't exactly sound very entertaining" virgil muttered, looking at his fingers trying to feign disinterest.

after he had heard what the other sides were planning to do for a future video, he had been slightly annoyed that his parting words weren't enough to make thomas hide under the covers until the sun went away. and if he was being completely honest, he was a little bit hurt that they hadn't included him at all, although he understood why. he didn't exactly love his own company and he was purposefully more annoying and hard to deal with around creativity.

"why are you always such a negative nancy?" roman complained, huffing and folding his arms like a little kid not getting what they want. virgil could see the resemblance.

" _that's my job_ , idiot" he rolled his eyes before walking past roman, intentionally shoving roman with his shoulder like roman had to him earlier that morning. when he was far enough away from the side to not hear his whining, he dropped the smirk and sighed.

it was exhausting to always have to be this character he had made for himself. but maybe, their little story that they had made for thomas' youtube videos could do with a little more flavour. virgil found a smirk falling back onto his lips without him having to think about it, and it stayed there even after he had slipped inside his room.

of course he would need a little bit of time to prepare for the role of a lifetime, but he had already made his character.

he wasn't a complete idiot. it wasn't hard to see the contempt in everyone's eyes when they looked at him.he wasn't exactly a popular figment in the mindscape; he was a traitor to the dark sides and a nuisance to the sight sides. he was the bad guy, and he played up to the role he was given. what else was he supposed to do?

virgil wandered over to his dresser and dug around a little to find his black eye pencil. the eye shadow would be too heavy, so pencil it was. he scribbled some under his eyes and smudged it with his thumb. he ruffled his bangs in front of his eyes and when he looked at himself in the mirror, he smiled.

well, if they wanted a villain, virgil would give them a villain. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading and commenting! the feedback on my last chapter was so wonderful to see and it really got me excited to write the second!  
> if you do enjoy then please leave kudos and a comment! thank you!
> 
> also disclaimer! although i'll try and stick to the timeline as much as possible, this book sort of starts when thomas is supposed to be on tour with his musical, and the tour did happen in the book, but he isn't currently on the tour in the story? he's in his house in the book ahaha okay that's all!


	3. infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> virgil decides its his turn to be in the series

it was a few months later when virgil finally built up the courage to be in one of the videos. thomas had been talking with the other sides about what it would be about, and the general idea was that it would be about relaxation and what thomas does to stay relaxed. of course roman had suggested the idea while virgil was in the room, constantly giving him side eye glances and smirks all the time. virgil smirked back.

the idea had generally been accepted by everyone (excluding virgil, who didn't get a vote because 'relaxation was not his department'), and the video was due to be posted on december 19th - a very important date that no one in the room actually knew. virgil was grateful that he hid his face underneath his hood when the date was announced, otherwise they all definitely would've seen the surprise in his eyes.

virgil's birthday had always been overlooked, especially since the dark sides didn't exactly like him and the light sides barely knew anything about him. he didn't really mind spending his birthday alone, it was honestly something that he quite enjoyed. he quite liked the peace, and he couldn't think of anything better than listening to music all day.

and even though virgil really believed this, he couldn't deny that it did hurt when he saw the balloons and large cake that was made for the others. the celebration, and the presents and the special 'family breakfast' that he was never invited to. they all made such a big deal of their birthdays and virgil felt a little like he was missing out, but he would never tell them his birthday.

he didn't want to force them to spend a day with someone they didn't like, and as much as he liked the image of patton baking him a cake with a frosted happy birthday on top, he knew that he would've only made it out of guilt and obligation, not out of want. virgil wasn't about to guilt trip the others into celebrating a stupid event with someone they hated. so, he'd listen to music while the others all worried about posting that video with thomas.

but virgil knew that this was his opportunity; if he was ever going to be in one of these stupid video things, he was going to be revealed to the audience on his birthday. it felt right, but that didn't take away from the fact that he was absolutely terrified. he tried to comfort himself by telling himself that it was unlikely the video would be posted at all. as soon as he interrupted, thomas would scrap the video completely ~~he hoped.~~

and yet it still bothered him every time he thought about it, the judging looks, the hate comments he would get, the complaints about his character as a whole. the only comfort he took form it all was that they would be judging someone who doesn't exist. he wasn't really this antagonistic person, he only played that part so thomas would listen, and to annoy princey. it wasn't real, and he would never show them his real self, because then any criticism would be real and it would _hurt._

he tried not to think about the audience, still hoping that the video wouldn't even be posted. however, if the video was going to be posted, then he needed to be ready.

before he even showed up, he knew that he was going to be portrayed as a villain, so it only made sense that he'd play into the role. he ruffled his bangs a little more than usual, put on his largest, blackest hoodie and applied a layer of foundation to try and cover his under eye circles a little. they still peaked through, but when he looked in the mirror, he saw that it looked like eyeliner. he was half tempted to add some more black makeup under his eyes to look a little more edgy and so he reached for his eyeliner pencil.

he contemplated for only a moment, half worried that princey was going to make fun of him for wearing makeup, or that the viewers would make jokes about him. he wasn't good with negative comments or criticism (he was thomas' negative thinking after all) but he assured himself that the viewers probably wouldn't even end up seeing the video. as soon as he showed up unannounced, thomas would stop filming and get him to leave. he breathed applying a little bit of the makeup under his eyes and smudging it.

his first video went about as well as anyone would've anticipated. thomas _flinched_ when he popped up, and he instantly summoned princey. the rest of the video went just as well, and virgil assumed that they would just ditch the video and tell him to go away, but they went with it.

after he had left, no one bothered him for the next few days while the video was being edited, and no one mentioned the surprise appearance to him ~~not that he left his room out of fear of confrontation~~.

and then, it was the night before his birthday. 

virgil had only ever had one birthday tradition, and he wasn't about to break the trend now, so he finally plucked up the courage to leave his room. it was 11:53pm when he opened his bedroom door, trying to be as silent as he could. he saw the light on in the other bedrooms, and sighed in relief knowing that this meant that they didn't have a movie night. he closed his bedroom door behind him and slipped his hands into his hoodie pockets. 

he made it to the kitchen without incident, and eventually began rummaging around in the cupboards as silently as he could to get what he needed. it took a short while, but at exactly 11:59 he had a bagel (it was the closest thing they had in the kitchen to a cake), a candle and a lighter. he glanced at the clock, jumping when he saw the time and quickly put the candle in the bagel, lighting it.

he stared at the bagel for a few seconds, sighing at how pathetic he must have looked sat alone in the kitchen staring at the flame of the candle. he looked back at the clock, and the numbers changed.

virgil allowed his shoulders to drop and a small smile to fall onto his lips. he looked back at his candle, whispering in a voice he could barely hear himself, "happy birthday, virge" and then prepared to blow out the candle before the light turned on. he jumped to his feet in surprise, trying to block the bagel from-

"what the hell are you doing down here this late in the dark?" roman asked, looking at virgil suspiciously as he tried to see what he was hiding. virgil flapped his hands behind his back in an attempt to put out to candle before he grabbed it out of the bagel and stuffed it into his pocket still trying to look natural. roman raised an eyebrow at his movements, still waiting for a reply.

"well? what are you doing? some form of sick, twisted voodoo i bet, huh, hot topic?" he scoffed, turning towards the sink, but still keeping his eyes locked onto virgil's form.

virgil scoffed back, "watch out princey, i might just hex you for that one" he forced a smirk before he walked away from the table and left the room. just before he was a safe distance away, he heard roman call out to him.

"you left a bagel in here, bread boy" 

virgil didn't turn around or even stop walking before he shouted back "keep it, dipshit" 

virgil couldn't make out the spluttering and incoherent muttering from roman after that.

__

the rest of virgil's birthday was uneventful until thomas posted the video. virgil sat in his room, banished from the living room because his anxious energy was too much for thomas. virgil didn't mind all that much, at least now he didn't have to pretend to not be nervous himself. he bit his thumb nail as he anxiously refreshed thomas' page every couple of seconds.

he held his breath when the video finally popped up. _taking on ANXIETY._ that was the title, and even in the thumbnail he was obviously going to be introduced as a bad guy. virgil didn't want to see what people were saying about him in the comments, but he knew that he had to look. he was only making himself more anxious every second he didn't click the video.

he finally clicked on the video, instantly pausing it because he did not want to see himself act like he did in that video. he took a deep breath and scrolled to the bottom where he paused. maybe he didn't need to know? maybe he could live in ignorant bliss and not read the thousands of horrible comments that were surely just a scroll away? but no, he had to look. if people were going to say horrible things to him, then he wanted to know what they were saying.

besides, he reminded himself, its not like they don't like him, they don't like anxiety. virgil is someone who they've never met before, they cant get to virgil, they're only attacking anxiety. he scrolled down, before he almost dropped his phone in shock.

the viewers... loved him.

_oh my gosh, anxiety is such a good character! i love how sassy he is!_

_wow anxiety and princey don't get along huh? they're banter is so entertaining_

_yesss!!!! everyone loves a good villain!!!_

virgil kept scrolling, but all of the comments were positive. a smile broke out on his face, wondering if this was how the others felt when they read their comments. it felt like some sick twisted validation that finally, at least someone in the world actually tolerated him. he wasn't completely unlikable, and there was hope for him after all. he almost sunk back out into the real world just to rub in princey's face that people _liked him_ , but a thought hit him all at once with enough force that he froze.

they didn't like him. they didn't like virgil, they liked _anxiety_. virgil was just playing a character, and no one actually tolerated virgil. they liked the witty, dry villain persona that he had put on. _everyone likes a good villain._ virgil wasn't interesting, but anxiety? anxiety had fans. people wanted more of the villain, more of the banter between him and roman, more of the dry come backs. they wanted more of him, and even thought the affection wasn't for virgil, it felt so real.

and anxiety wasn't about to disappoint his fans.

\--

anxiety ended up joining the next video, and he _sang_ , something that virgil wouldn't dream of doing. but the more he played up the villain act, the more positive comments he got. the audience loved him, especially when he was sassy towards princey. he didn't even have to act when talking to roman, because the prince just irritated him and he was naturally sharp and dry when talking to him.

he ended up joining a video with just him and the obnoxious prince himself. _the dark side of disney._

virgil hated to admit that he enjoyed himself. he didn't want to admit that he had actually liked his debate with roman, and he loved when he wasn't actively kicked out of the video as soon as he arrived. it was nice, almost domestic, like friendly banter (although princey was most certainly not a friend). he enjoyed himself, as much as he hated to admit it, and he could almost imagine him and princey getting along; although he would never say it out loud. 

and in the bedroom down the hall, a prince had a very similar thought process. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all of the wonderful comments! they really are the reason i continue t write stories that i would've other wise abandoned, so it does really help! hope you're all enjoying!


	4. or the next day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> virgil starts to realise and thinks of ways to combat the things he feels.

roman had enjoyed filming videos a lot more recently, and he had actually not been as bothered by anxiety's presence as much as he normally was. of course he still wasn't a fan of the side. he was still rude and sarcastic and generally a bad guy, but roman felt his own nicknames becoming less harsh and more joking. he wasn't going to admit it to anyone though. 

he noticed that logan and patton were both warming up to him as well, although they did t much faster than roman himself. roman was still wary about anxiety as a side. he didn't know why but he felt as though he shouldn't be talking and befriending them. and although they hadn't had any previous intense history, roman still felt as though he and anxiety weren't supposed to be friends. he was a dark side, roman was a prince. they were opposites, enemies, and roman felt obliged to keep that dislike between them.

but it didn't take long for roman and anxiety to forget that they weren't supposed to be friends.

it started small, little conversations in the kitchen where only a few insults were thrown. then that evolved into sitting together on the couch without complaint, until eventually the two were at the place where they could talk for an hour without any insults at all. it was strange to roman, how quickly he became accustomed to their conversations and how he got used to anxiety's presence so fast. they were opposites, but the saying did say that opposites attract. 

the last time they talked, roman had stayed up late to finish a project, but he had decided to stay in the kitchen to finish it. he hadn't realised how late it was getting until he heard someone clear their throat behind him. he turned around in his seat, his eyes burning for a while once he finally looked away from his computer, and after the few seconds it took for his eyes to adjust, he saw anxiety in the door way.

his face was guarded and he was sporting some pretty intense eye makeup considering it was late. he looked tired, but alert, and roman couldn't help but notice that he wasn't wearing his usual hoodie. instead he was wearing a simple long sleeved shirt and some jogging bottoms. roman had to admit he looked comfortable and it made him feel slightly over dressed since he was still wearing his prince outfit from the video they had filmed earlier that day.

"how come you're up so late?" anxiety asked, walking over to the sink while keeping an eye on roman. roman noticed the caution of course, but he didn't mention it. instead he turned back to his computer and checked the time. he didn't think it was that late - it certainly didn't _feel_ that late - and yet the timer read 4:18 am. roman was suddenly very aware of how tired his eyes were and how sluggish his movements were.

"i didn't realise it was this late, brad pitiful" roman turned back to anxiety only to find him gone. roman looked at the coffee machine to see if it was brewing but no. there was no noise.

"what are you doing?" roman nearly jumped out of his skin as he whipped his head back around to his laptop only to find that anxiety had sat down at the table besides roman. jesus, he must be really tired to have not noticed him move like that. anxiety snorted slightly, raising an eyebrow at roman while he took a sip from his water. it was almost strange to see the side drink anything other than coffee.

"can you not scare me like that?" roman bit out, trying not to flush with embarrassment. he was tired and anxiety had just scared him, and now he was laughing at him. although he was glad that someone had come down so that he could now go to bed, he wished it had been a different side. if there was one side that knew how to get on his nerves it was anxiety.

"sorry, didn't realise you were so jumpy when you're tired. i should catch you sleepy more often, you're much more fun like this" he smirked, but roman just glared back. his exhaustion was quickly catching up to him and the more he talked to anxiety, the more he wanted to sleep. this conversation was quickly becoming tiresome.

"so, what are you doing, princey?" anxiety took another sip of his water while eyeing roman. roman rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"if you must know i'm working on the next sanders sides episode." he watched as anxiety's curiosity increased.

"so what do i do in it, then? whats your idea?" 

"in an ideal world you wouldn't show up at all, but alas, for some reason you're popular so the general idea has to have a role for you. you'll probably do something villainous and then we'll all save the day - me specifically - and then thomas will be happy again and bam, video is over" roman sighed as he looked at the long list of ideas on the screen. they all seemed good but not good enough. they needed some form of direction for the videos, and then the actual episodes would be unscripted. it was how all of their videos were filmed, but roman couldn't think of anything good for this next one.

"well maybe you're just not good enough to think of anything on your own, huh? maybe you should ask me for help?" anxiety bit out, clearly angry at something roman had said but he didn't really care. it was late and roman was almost falling asleep where he sat, he just wanted this conversation over.

"oh yeah, great idea, ask the person who gets in everyone's way, how he thinks he should get in everyone's way? genius, go on then, how should you annoy us all in the next video?" roman stood, his mood plummeting as he slammed down his laptop. anxiety had just insulted his work and him as a side, he was not about to let that slide. as he grabbed his laptop and tucked in his chair, he heared a glass get slammed down onto the counter top by the sink. he flinched and turned to see virgil staring at him with fury.

"well if i'm such a problem, then maybe i wont show up to the next stupid video" anxiety began storming out of the room and in a final moment of childishness and in a desperate attempt to have the last word, roman called after him.

"thank god, not like you'll be missed!" 

there was no response, and roman almost felt bad when he heared a door slam further into the mindscape. when he finally got into his own room, changed into his pyjamas and crawled into bed, he couldn't help but fall straight asleep, blissfully unaware of the pacing that was happening a few doors down the hall. roman slept peacefully that night.

anxiety did not.

-

roman didn't notice for the first couple of days. thomas seemed happy and patton and logan were having a good time. roman felt bad for having that argument with anxiety, especially since it had been his fault int he first place, but he didn't feel the need to apologise. after all it was anxiety, he didn't like anxiety and anxiety didn't like him. he didn't lie about anything that he had said, it would be easier if anxiety didn't show up to the videos anymore, but they do need him. without him the videos wouldn't be as exciting. they needed a villain, someone to argue with, or the videos would just be boring.

and roman finally decided on a video idea that he liked; each side would write a story, and they would all tell them to the audience to see four different genres of fiction. he thought it was genius; they would get roman's action, patton's uplifting story, logan's factual book and anxiety's horror. then thomas could create some scenery for each one and there you had it! the next video! the problem that they were facing was still up in the air, but roman assumed it was going to have something to do with him mainly since he deserved another video centered around him.

and although logan and patton were on board, roman had yet to see anxiety at all. it was on the fourth day when roman noticed the change in thomas' behavior. he was outgoing and confident, doing things he wouldn't normally do. he asked out a friend, and went to a party and whenever the sides checked in it was like as if he was having the best time of his life. it didn't take long for the sides to have a family meeting, and when thomas' change in behaviors was brought up the cause was quickly discovered.

"it must be anxiety. hes taking it easy on thomas, hanging back, not being as... persistent as usual. however i cannot understand why." logan had said and both roman and patton agreed after thinking about it for a little while.

"well, thomas seems to be enjoying himself! and its good that hes finally eased up. i wonder why he decided to now though?" patton added, happily sipping on cup of hot chocolate even though it was the beginning of July.

"i might know" roman spoke, and once he thought about it more it made sense. of course their argument had made anxiety see the error of his ways and he had finally stopped bothering thomas so much! roman had tamed the beast, he really was a hero.

"me and anxiety had a little... chat, in the early hours of a few days ago. i- i _persuaded_ him to ease up on thomas and clearly he took my advice to heart! so all i'm saying is, you're welcome!" roman practically sung the last part, and both logan and patton looked rather impressed by his story, if a little bit skeptical. however it didn't take long for the three sides to agree that it was good news.

patton had insisted on inviting anxiety to join them for a movie night as an attempt to thank him for his cooperation. roman tried to convince them that it wasn't necessary in an attempt to save his reputation, but patton had already made up his mind. and since roman had so humbly called himself the anxiety whisperer, roman had been told that he could go tell anxiety the good news. roman tried valiantly to refuse, but both sides seemed adamant that roman should be the one to ask, and so roman did. he walked over the anxious sides room and prepared to invite him to a movie night while hoping desperately that anxiety would say no.

this could only end badly.

-

it took a far too long for virgil to realise. looking back he was amazed that he didn't notice it before. from the soft nicknames patton had started using, to the healthy debate where logan tried to help him. even princey's insults had lost their bite and had become more friendly banter. the problem? they weren't friends.

and it took fifteen videos for him to notice.

of course in the beginning he had enjoyed being the villain, and the audience loved him as that role. he was sarcastic and constantly tried to purposefully get in the way of videos, he played into the role of the bad guy, and the sides were against him. but after he realised that patton had been leaving little nicknames for him, and after his friendly debate with logan, he realised that he was getting comfortable.

outside of the videos was much the same. he found himself in the commons more often, the sides not complaining about his presence and tolerating him. sometimes roman would kick him out but more often than not he just huffed in an annoyed way and ignored virgil. and virgil found himself enjoying the time when he wasn't alone, and he started trying to cooperate with the sides more. he started listening to their opinions with more interest and he actually trusted their ideas.

and that's why it hurt so much when they all continued to say that he was bad for thomas.

he honestly believed, like an idiot, that they were getting along, and that they could possibly become friends and work together to help thomas. but of course he was wrong. to them, he was still the antagonizing anxiety that constantly got in the way of thomas' happiness. and it _hurt._ because the more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe they had a point.

he was always moody, grumpy, and he _did_ bring the mood down whenever he showed up. there was also no denying that his realisation didn't go unnoticed by the audience. he constantly saw comments mentioning that he looked sad when certain comments were made. _i'm no defeatist._ virgil sighed just thinking about it. he wished he was better at schooling his emotions when confronted with an insult. 

and after the realisation had hit him that he wasn't liked, he began questioning how much he was needed. it didn't take long for him to completely rip his entire function to threads. if thomas had no anxiety, what were the cons? 

he would be confident, outgoing, happy, social, extroverted and less likely to screw everything up. and as much as the idea of letting go of some control terrified virgil, he couldn't help but feel like he owed it to thomas. his happiness was on the line and the only thing that stood between thomas and being the person he always wanted to be was virgil's comfort, then he would happily throw it all away in a heart beat. 

he started off small, just checking up on thomas less and less. he panicked in his room about what he was missing a lot, but whenever he did check up on thomas he was always smiling so wide, and seeing that was enough for virgil to continue pulling away. he stopped checking in on him at all, and just allowed his natural instincts to take over. he rarely left his room to see the others to as to spare them from his terrible mood. handling all of thomas' anxious thoughts alone was actually very difficult and it was taking its toll on virgil.

the bags under his eyes that he normally tried to cover with foundation stood out no matter how much makeup he put on. he wasn't sleeping, and his hands were shaking from sleep deprivation and anxious thoughts. he sat on his bed wrapped in his duvet, music playing out loud at a minimal volume because every sound was just _too loud_ for virgil at the moment. he knew he was on the verge of giving in and checking on thomas. it had only been five days since he went completely cold turkey and although he didn't know how thomas was doing, he knew that nothing could've gone wrong because no one had knocked on his door to shout at him.

he seemed to have jinxed himself though, because at that moment there were three knocks on his door followed by a boisterous voice calling his name. he cursed under his breath, hoping that whatever thomas had done hadn't been too bad and that he wasn't seriously hurt. he resisted the urge to automatically check on him before he stood to open the door. shaking hands grabbed the handle and twisted it, and the bright white of roman's outfit made virgil flinch a little. he hadn't realised how dark his room was.

"anxiety! obviously i don't want to be here for too long, but i wanted to let you know that patton has invited you to come to out movie night tonight. don't worry, i already told him you'd probably decline so he wont be offended if you do and if i'm being honest i think it'd be better if you didn't come out of the zone you're in. i mean that's why he invited you int eh first place, to say thank you for doing so well this week! i must say its good to finally have you off my back. so, what do you say?" roman smiled, and it took way too long for virgil's mind to actually catch up to what he said.

"the zone i'm in?" he asked, completely confused. what zone was roman talking about? why were the others thanking him? 

"you've backed off of thomas and he has had the best week of his life! hes been so productive and done so many great things! honestly its been wonderful, and its all thanks to you! whatever you've been doing, keep it up because its working great!" roman smiled, leaning against virgil's door frame. 

virgil's heart audibly broke in half. of course they would all be having the greatest week of their lives, virgil had removed himself from the equations. he was literally doing the smallest amount he could possibly do without ducking out.

"huh" he said, unsure how he was meant to respond. 

"so, movie night? were watching disney movies though so if you could not bring the mood down by talking about the depressing aspects of them that would be great-"

"no um..." virgil cut roman off. he couldn't even imagine facing the others now that he knew that him leaving made them all so happy. he shook his head. he needed to think, alone. "I've actually got some stuff I've got to do so i cant tonight. but thanks"

virgil imagined seeing roman's face fall slightly before he smiled again. he dramatically bowed his head before backing away from the door. "i'll tell patton to save you a cookie then! come by the kitchen later to pick it up" roman turned and walked down the hall and virgil watched him go. once roman had fully disappeared, virgil stood for a few more seconds before closing the door softly.

it took seconds for virgil to breakdown.

-

after a couple of hours, virgil finally pulled himself together and told himself that if he was going to do this, then at least needed to be hydrated when he did. he took a breath and made himself walk to the kitchen. it was late, later than he first thought, but there was still a light in the kitchen when he arrived. he cursed silently under his breath, hoping to every god that existed that he didn't look like he had just broken down. he walked through the door, head down and hood up and walked straight forward towards the sink.

"there you are! i thought you weren't ever going to show up!" a voice huffed and virgil looked over the see roman sat at the table, a plate with a single cookie that sat untouched beside him. virgil was confused, and asked what roman was waiting for just before he remembered what roman had said earlier.

"i told you patton saved a cookie for you! consider it a present for laying low this past week, we appreciate it, all of us. including thomas! you know he has a date? and he asked James out! you would've never let him do that!" roman laughed, and virgil shivered as he grabbed an empty glass and began filling it with ice cold water. no, virgil wouldn't ever let thomas do that. what if he said no, what if they lost a perfectly good friendship or what if he said yes and they broke up and everything ended horribly and then they couldn't hang out anymore or-

virgil brought the glass to his lips and took a sip, trying his best not to let the silence make him feel awkward. thomas had asked his friend out though, and it had gone well. they had a date and thomas was happy and excited about it. he was _happy_ , and virgil was _barely in the picture_. it hurt to think about, but virgil had to ask before he confirmed his next move. as much as he didn't want the answer, he needed to know.

"so, how has thomas been this past week?" and virgil braced himself, still holding onto the hope that roman might complain about his confidence being too high, him being a little bit too reckless or even him missing his anxiety, at least a bit. 

"honestly? i think hes having the best week of his life. nothing holding him back, you know?" roman spoke relatively softly, and ended as if he had more to say, bit before he could continue virgil sighed and turned around.

"good. that'd good. I've gotta go, princey." virgil walked over to the door and paused, not looking back as a silent tear slid down his face. "look after him, okay?" and then he was gone.

roman watched anxiety walk down the hallway, thinking about his words for a while before he turned back around and spotted the cookie. he considered running after him to give it to him, but it was late. he was tired and it would still be there tomorrow for anxiety if he still wanted it. 

-

anxiety didn't come to get the cookie the next day, or the day after that, or even the day after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry its been such a long time, been feeling a little unmotivated but it was peoples comments that really made me want to write this next chapter! also i know we might be going a little bit fast but i don't want this story to be super long so prepare for a lot of time skips! don't forget to leave kudos and comments, they mean a lot!!

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i will try and actually update this semi regularly! i have the whole story planned out unlike other books i've written here, and i'm really invested in this story!
> 
> also in case it was confusing for anyone at the end there, roman isn't sure whether the event was real or fake, but spoiler alert, it did happen. he did actually make a deal with a dragon witch! 
> 
> leave a kudos and a comment if you liked it because getting comments is the only thing that keeps me motivated to write! thanks guys!


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